Ocean Acres, New Jersey
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| Ocean Acres, New Jersey | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Ocean |
| Area | |
| - Total | 5.9 sq mi (15.4 km²) |
| - Land | 5.9 sq mi (15.2 km²) |
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²) |
| Elevation | 128 ft (39 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 13,155 |
| - Density | 2,248.0/sq mi (868.0/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| FIPS code | 34-54315[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1867369[2] |
Ocean Acres is a census-designated place and unincorporated area split between Barnegat Township and Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 13,155. The subdivision is one of the largest in Ocean County, alongside Holiday City - Silver Ridge Park in Toms River. The subdivision includes the Ocean Acres Country Club, and is the location for the 98.5 WBBO radio station.
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[edit] History
Ocean Acres is approximately a six-square-mile master-planned community of 5,500 lots, located in the northwestern end of Stafford Township and part of Barnegat. It is the newest, and with approximately 13,155 out of 22,532 total residents, the biggest part of both towns. Most of the streets are named after nautical terms.
Ocean Acres was started in the early 1960s, and in its first year, 2,000 lots were sold. Developers used to bus potential buyers to Stafford.
Ocean Acres is home to Southern Ocean County Hospital, a 144-bed hospital that started as a satellite of Burlington County Memorial Hospital and grew as the county grew. Mayor Carl W. Block has lived in Ocean Acres for about 30 years. The golf course at Ocean Acres Country Club was included in Golf Digest's "4,200 Best Places To Play" and was designed by course architect Hal Purdy.
Ocean Acres is still developing. A new section, Ocean Acres Barnegat, which opened in 2006, is being developed by Walters Homes, which has developed a large part of Ocean Acres Stafford in recent years. Lighthouse Development Company is also developing the new Ocean Acres Barnegat. Ocean Acres Barnegat was an area of Ocean Acres that sat vacant for years, but is now being finished.
There is one development, Oaks of Stafford, is not a part of Ocean Acres, although it is located inside of it.
[edit] Geography
Ocean Acres is located at (39.739800, -74.284106)[3].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 15.4 km² (5.9 mi²). 15.2 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.52%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1990 | 5,587 |
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| 2000 | 13,155 | 135.5% | |
| source: [4] | |||
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 13,155 people, 4,683 households, and 3,807 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 868.2/km² (2,248.0/mi²). There were 4,959 housing units at an average density of 327.3/km² (847.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.34% White, 1.00% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.77% of the population.
There were 4,683 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.4% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $53,169, and the median income for a family was $58,404. Males had a median income of $42,368 versus $31,208 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,249. About 2.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Environmental Concern
The Pinelands Commission says: "In the Ocean County matter, the Pinelands Commission voted to certify an amendment to the Barnegat Township land use ordinance that will implement an innovative plan to protect important natural resources in the Ocean Acres subdivision. The Plan will permanently protect about 350 acres (1.4 km²) of critical habitat in the roughly 810 acres (3.3 km²) subdivision through a combination of conservation and zoning measures. An on-site transfer-of-development rights program provides some relief to people whose lots are in the critical habitat areas and can not be developed. Development of a conservation plan was prompted by the discovery last year of endangered northern pine snakes and other rare plant and animal species in the area where a developer plans to construct hundreds of new homes. Ocean Acres is in a Pinelands Regional Growth Area, a zone designated for moderate density residential development. At the request of the Pinelands Commission, the developer agreed to conduct an extensive survey to determine if additional snakes inhabit the area and, if so, to what extent. Five snakes were radio-tracked over several months to determine the extent of their habitat and ranges. This snake data was combined with information on other natural resources, including the location of other protected plant and animal species and wetlands, to delineate conservation areas within the Ocean Acres subdivision that would be off-limit to future development. The Barnegat Township portion of Ocean Acres was sub-divided prior to the Pinelands protection program and approximately 850 of the area’s 2,015 lots are below the Pinelands minimum lot size standards for the area. The proposed conservation plan sets forth mitigation options that allow owners of undersized lots to protect land in the conservation area in exchange for building approvals. This also provides dispensation for property owners who will not be able to build because of the presence of wetlands and threatened and endangered plants and animals. Under the proposal, approximately 730 vacant building lots in the subdivision will be located within the protected conservation area. “Ocean Acres posed several unique challenges due to sub-standard lot sizes and the fact that the lots are owned by hundreds of individuals and a handful of developers,” explained Stokes. “We came up with a solution that protects important natural resources and provides some financial return for those who are impacted by restrictive zoning.”
[edit] External links
- New Jersey Pinelands Commission
- New Jersey Pinelands Commission News Release (PDF)
- Ocean Acres Country Club
- Ocean Acres, New Jersey is at coordinates Coordinates:
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ {{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US3403040&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C16000US3403040&_street=&_county=ocean+acres&_cityTown=ocean+acres&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= |title=Population Finder: Ocean Acres CDP, New Jersey |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=2007-03-16}
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